Film process magazine



Jan. 24, 1967 H. N. DIEFFENBACH 3,299,790

FILM PROCESS MAGAZINE Filed Oct. 10 1963 INVENTOR.

HARRY N. DIEFFENBACH BY Fix/" WW/ ATTORNEYS United 7 3,299,790 FILM PROCESS MAGAZINE Harry N. Diefi'enhach, Fremont, Calif., assignor to Mark Systems, Inc., Santa Clara, Calif. Filed Oct. 10, 1963, Ser. No. 315,147 Claims. (Cl. 95-89) This invention relates to a photographic film take-up and film processing mechanism for use with cameras.

Eastman Kodak and possibly others have developed a film process by which a film carrying a photographic emulsion is processed to render an independent negative and a positive of the image photographed. The process is referred to as the Bimat type process of Eastman Kodak and generally comprises the use of a mat of film carrying an emulsion which is soaked in a developing solution. Development of the initial negative and the rendition of a positive are accomplished by mating the emulsion side of the negative film with the emulsion side of the developer fluid carrying mat. When the film and the mat are compressed together, development occurs by causing the relatively unexposed portions of the exposed film to be transferred onto the mat and the relatively exposed portions of the emulsions to be retained on the film. There is, of course, a gradation of control which provides the more or less continuous tone image characteristic of the ordinary contrast of standard photographic materials. The aforesaid photographic process is completed in approximately 10 to minutes after the union of the two sheets of material, i.e. the film and the mat under the present state of the art, and can remain in united condition for a substantial period of time without undesirable effects.

The principal object of this invention is to provide an improved mechanical film and mat take-up reel assembly which unites and registers the mat with the film subsequent to film exposure in such a way that the development process is carried out upon winding the exposed film onto the take-up reel.

The conventional means for developing out such materials would consist of a supply reel of mat material or film and a take-up reel for the photographic film and mat. A set of intermediate rollers cause the mat and the film to be be joined together at a point of union remote from both the take-up and supply reels. By this means, both the mat and the film are wound onto the take-up spool or reel as a joint entity. In other words, the known prior art joins the film and the mat through rollers which compress the two sheets together whereinafter they are rolled for storage onto the take-up spool. The material is then later separated to provide a negative image on the film and a positive image on the mat material.

The present invention provides a mechanism offering substantial advantages over the aforesaid system by employing the material or film on the mat spool and the material or film on the take-up spool or reel as the rollers or platens to compress the two sheets together. This is accomplished by mounting the reel carrying the mat and the take-up film carrying reel in tangential relationship while applying uniform pressure in a plane passing through the rotational axis of both reels to urge the reels together at a tangential mating point of the material or film on both reels. By virtue of this relationship there are numerous unexpected advantages derived.

One of the features and advantages of this invention lies in the fact that the two materials are tracked evenly onto the take-up spool. This is an extremely important advantage due to the fact that it is an absolute requirement that the mat and the film stay in precise and absolute registration after once being mated. To vary this registration after mating will cause a distortion or blurring states atent Chips 3,299,7' Patented Jan. 24, 1967 of the respective images on both the positive and the negatrve films. Misaligned tracking will cause the film to wind more towards one or the other end of the reels which can result in edge compression of the film against the reel side wall causing a force which can cause relative movement between the mat and the film. The fact that the film and mat in this invention are joined while engaged onto the take-up spool greatly eliminates this problem.

Another feature and advantage of this invention lies in the fact that the two materials are joined in a condition in which both materials are on a radius conforming to the take-up reel outer diameter. If the two materials are joined while in straight configuration and then conformed to the radius of the take-up reel, there is a danger that the two materials or sheets will be sligthly misregistered with respect to each other at the time of conforming to the diameter of the take-up reel. This is due to the fact that the inner of the two films will be on a smaller radius than the outer of the two films. In the present invention the two films are already in the proper radius deformation at the instant of compression and joinder.

Still another feature and advantage of this invention lies in the fact that the mat reel and the take-up film reel are in space sharing relationship so that the space occupied by a portion of the mat reel is subsequently shared or occupied by the film take-up reel. This is an important feature where physical dimensions and size are of critical importance, for example in forming magazines for conventional cameras there is a limited spacial area which can be adapted to receive a film magazine. By virtue of the space sharing feature of this invention the operating contents of the magazine can be reduced to its lowest possible total space requirements.

Still another feature and advantage of this invention lies in the provision of an inherently tight wrap of film and mat on the take-up reel without the necessity of applying a braking force on the mat spool or reel. The tight wrap also maintains a substantial consistency of pressure between the two materials and is created by the tangential union of the two reels at the time of winding onto the take-up spool. It is obvious that this advantage creates a more uniform film developing relationship.

Due to the aforesaid feature the system provides the additional benefit of requiring lower power for driving the take-up reel in that there need be no drag resistance or breakage of the mat supplying reel.

Another advantage of this invention resides in the fact that the mechanical relationship affords the absolute minimum of mat material which is exposed to the ambient atmosphere so that there is a minimum mat area exposed to an environment which would allow evaporation. As previously stated, the mat material is arranged to carry liquid developing materials in a more or less saturated condition within the mat material. The mat under the present state of the art is submerged in develop ing chemicals to obtain the aforesaid saturation shortly prior to its use. Thus, evaporation of the liquid carried by the mat can change the development characteristics. Thus, in this invention the air space exposure of the mat is reduced to an absolute minimum.

Another feature and advantage of this invention lies in the greater ability of the device of this invention to be adapted to higher speed and irregular film drives. In the most currently important utility of this type of process the materials are used in aerial-type cameras in which the film operates in a manner similar to a motion picture camera by employing multiple single frame exposures in a start-stop operation, or the camera may be required to operate at an extremely high speed in order to allow the film to travel through the film mat at a speed equal to the relative image speed on the fihn plane. The present invention eliminates the requirements of film and mat stretches entirely between their point of union and their wrapping on the take-up spool so that the whipping action which often times causes a problem in start-stop or high speed intermediate take-up conditions is greatly if not completely eliminated.

And as a still further object of this invention there is a great reduction of the possibility of air bubbles being trapped between the two mating films, which is an obvious advantage in that an air bubble will cause an area of more limited development of the film.

The foregoing objects, features and advantages as wel as others will be apparent from reading the following specification and attached drawing in which:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of a film magazine showing a portion cut away incorporating the mat and film joining structure of the present invention.

FIG. 1A is an enlarged view of the portion encircled in broken lines in FIG. 1 showing the film and mat being joined.

FIG. 2 is a schematic view illustrating the relationship of the mat and film reels in which the film take-up reel is relatively unloaded.

FIG. 3 is a schematic view similar to FIG. 2 showing the film take-up reel in substantially fully loaded condition.

Referring now to the drawings, there is provided a film magazine generally indicated at A which is arranged to be connected to a companion camera (not shown) in light tight unison with the camera so that the interior of the magazine A is shielded completely from light. The magazine is arranged to contain a fixably rotatably mounted film and mat take-up reel 15 and a mat supply reel 16 rotatably mounted on a support assembly 19 arranged for longitudinal movement on a mat guide assembly 21. Mat guide assembly 21 comprises a pair of shafts 2.2 and 23 mounted on shaft supports 24 and 25. The bearing support 19 is mounted on a pair of guide bearings 28 for guidance along shaft 22 and guide bearing 29 for guidance along shaft 23. The mat guide assembly carries a bearing 31 adapted to carry the axle 32 for the mat reel 16. The two shafts 22 and 23 are arranged in coplanar alignment on a plane extending from the center line of shaft 32 and shaft 35 of the take-up spool 15 so that the movement of shaft 32 will always be on a common plane extending on a line intersecting the center portion of shaft 32 and 35. By this relationship the peripheral edge of the material on the two reels 15 and 16 will be in tangential relationship.

A negator type spring assembly 36 is connected to the bearing assembly 19 on each side of the reels to provide constant spring pressure forcing the mat assembly or reel 16 tightly against film reel 15. The negator type spring is a ribbon spring providing substantially constant force throughout its entire rewind limits.

The make-up of support assembly 19 is arranged to accomplish the functions shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 in which shaft 32 may be driven on a plane towards shaft 35 by negator springs 36 so that the line of force is directly on the plane between the two shafts with the two reels 15 and 16 being in tangential arrangement, so that the tangent between the two reels is on the same plane as the line of movement of reel 16 towards reel 15. Film B enters the magazine from the camera through a guide reel it) and thence is guided for winding under reel 15. Reel 16 is previously filled and is wound with the developer soaked mat C so that in operation the mat material C joins the film B at the point of tangent between the two reels l and 16. The pressure afforded by the negator spring as on the mat carrying reel 16 causes a compression union to exist between the mat and the film at the point of tangency indicated at 4-2. Film B is arranged with its emulsion side 43 out so that the emulsion side faces the outside of the reel. Likewise, the mat material is provided with its emulsion side 44 on the outside of the reel so that at that point of tangency the two emulsions will be in face to face relationship. The take-up reel axle 35 is driven by the regular camera drive gear or may be driven by a separate constant torque type motor.

As previously stated, mat C is processed before loading onto reel 16 by submerging the mat in the developing liquid to impregnate the mat with developing solution. This creates a rather tacky or semi pressure sensitive adhesive quality to the mat surface whereupon the mat tends to stick with some adhesive force to the film at the point of tangency 42. It can be seen that the reel 15 and in share substantially the same space between the two reels in that as reel 16 decreases in diameter, reel 15 increases within the portion of the same area previously occupied by reel 16. This is a great advantage when a space requirements are to be considered. The liquid developing material w ich is contained in mat C has a tendency to evaporate when exposed to air for too long a period. By this relationship only one diameter of mat material has its surface exposed to the atmosphere. The remaining material on the reel is isolated from the atmosphere by other layers of mat material. In normal camera operation the film B, either intermittently or at a more or loss constant rate of travel, is loaded onto reel 15, making mating contact with mat C. The film is thence allowed to remain on take-up spool 5 for at least the required development time whereinafter the film can be removed from the magazine and mat C can be separated from film B. Film B will have a negative image and mat C a positive image, the positive image having been transferred from film B to mat C due to the action of the developing agent carried by the mat. The body of mat C on its reel 16 functions as a pressure roller with sufficient uniformity to eliminate air bubbles between the mat and the film. In addition, the film material in combination with the mat is compressed at the point of tangency so that both the film and the mat are formed in the circumference of the take-up spool at the point of contact and compression. This arrangement also affects a continuously taut winding on the take-up reel 15 without the necessity of providing any breakage or drag on the mat carrying reel 16.

While one embodiment of this invention has been shown and described, it Will be apparent that other adaptations and modifications can be made without departing from the true spirit and scope of the invention.

What is claimed is:

1. A mechanism for simultaneous processing of a photographic film of the type having a photographic film with an emulsion side adapted to create a latent image when exposed to light and a mat film having a developing solution impregnated within an emulsion side of the mat film and in which development of the latent image on the film is caused by action of the developer carried by the mat when an intimate contact between the emulsion of the film and the emulsion of the mat is effected, said mechanism comprising a first rotatable reel having said mat film reeled thereon and a second rotatable reel having said photographic film and mat film reeled thereon, means urging said first reel and said second reel together with the mat film and photographic film in mating unity at the point of tangency between the two reels, and means to rotate said second reel to cause said mat film and photographic film to roll onto said second reel, the emulsion side of said mat film and said photographic film being in face-to-face relationship while being rolled onto said second reel.

2. A mechanism for simultaneous processing of a photographic film of the type having a photographic film with an emulsion side adapted to create a latent image when exposed to light and a mat film having a deveoping solution impregnated within an emulsion side of the mat film and in which development of the latent image on the film is caused by action of the developer carried by the mat when an intimate contact between the emulsion of the mat is efiected, said mechanism comprising a film take-up reel receiving said photographic film and said mat film, means to rotate said take-up reel on a fixed axis of rotation to cause said mat film and photographic film to be rolled onto said reel, a mat carrying supply reel rotatably mounted adjacent said take-up reel, means slidably supporting said mat supply reel for movement against said take-up reel on a plane passing through the center axis of rotation of said supply and take-up reels, means urging said supply reel against said take-up reel under constant pressure, said mat film and said photographic film being wound whereby the emulsion side of said films are in face-to-face relationship when wound on said take-up reel, whereby the mat material on said supply reel forms a platen to compress the mat film and photographic film together at the point or" tangency of said two reels.

3. A mechanism for simultaneous processing of a photographic film of the type having a photographic film with an emulsion side adapted to create a latent image when exposed to light and a mat film having a developing solution impregnated within an emulsion side of the mat film and in which development of the latent image on the film is caused by action of the developer carried by the mat when an intimate contact between the emulsion of the film and the emulsion of the mat is effected, said mechanism comprising a first reel carrying an end of said mat film with the emulsion side on the outside face of the film, a take-up reel having said photographic film and the other end of said mat film reeled thereon with the emulsion side of said photographic film facing outwardly and the emulsion side of said mat film facing inwardly, means urging said mat film carrying reel tightly against said takeup reel at a point of tangency along a plane intersecting the axis of rotation of said two reels, and means to rotate said take-up reel to cause said photographic film and said mat film to be wound thereon.

4. A mechanism for simultaneous processing of a photographic film of the type having a photographic film with an emulsion side adapted to create a latent image when exposed to light and a mat film having a developing solution impregnated within an emulsion side of the mat film and in which development of the latent image on the film is caused by action of the developer carried by the mat when an intimate contact between the emulsion of the film and the emulsion of the mat is effected, said mechanism comprising a magazine adapted for light tight connection to a camera, a film take-up reel mounted wit-hin said magazine, means to rotate said take-up reel on a first axis, a mat film supply reel mounted within said magazine for free rotation on a second axis, said first and second axes being in parallel relation, means moving said supply reel towards said take-up reel in a direction passing through said first and second axes, said take-up reel carrying a roll of mat film for winding onto said take-up reel with said photographic film, whereby the rolled mat film is adapted to compress against the mat film and photographic film at the point of tangency between the two reels.

5. A mechanism for simultaneous processing of a photographic film of the type having a photographic film with an emulsion side adapted to create a latent image when exposed to light and a mat film having a developing solution impregnated within an emulsion side of the mat film and in which development of the latent image on the film is caused by action of the developer carried by the mat when an intimate contact between the emulsion of the film and the emulsion of the mat is effected, said mechanism comprising a roll of mat film and an adjacent roll receiving the mats film from said first roll together with the photographic film, means urging the first roll of material against said second roll of material with the two rolls compressed together in tangential relationship, said photographic film and said mat film being rolled onto said second reel with their emulsion sides in face-to-face relationship.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1/1914 Parham -89 7/1962 Schreck 9514 

5. A MECHANISM FOR SIMULTANEOUS PROCESSING OF A PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM OF THE TYPE HAVING A PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM WITH AN EMULSION SIDE ADAPTED TO CREATE A LATENT IMAGE WHEN EXPOSED TO LIGHT AND A MAT FILM HAVING A DEVELOPING SOLUTION IMPREGNATED WITHIN AN EMULSION SIDE OF THE MAT FILM AND IN WHICH DEVELOPMENT OF THE LATENT IMAGE ON THE FILM IS CAUSED BY ACTION OF THE DEVELOPER CARRIED BY THE MAT WHEN AN INTIMATE CONTACT BETWEEN THE EMULSION OF THE FILM AND THE EMULSION OF THE MAT IS EFFECTED, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING A ROLL OF MAT FILM AND AN ADJACENT ROLL RECEIVING THE MAT''S FILM FROM SAID FIRST ROLL TOGETHER WITH THE PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM, MEANS URGING THE FIRST ROLL OF MATERIAL AGAINST SAID SECOND ROLL OF MATERIAL WITH THE TWO ROLLS COMPRESSED TOGETHER IN TANGENTIAL RELATIONSHIP, SAID PHOTOGRAPHIC FILM AND SAID MAT FILM BEING ROLLED ONTO SAID SECOND REEL WITH THEIR EMULSION SIDES IN FACE-TO-FACE RELATIONSHIP. 